Channel partners cool on the new HP

A spirit of de-emphasis is abroad...

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More than a third of Hewlett-Packard's and Compaq's authorised channel partners plan to scale down their involvement with the post-merger company.

That's one of the key findings of a survey of channel attitudes to the mega-merger by channel consulting firm Global Touch, which found mixed attitudes to the deal among distributors, resellers and integrators.

On the positive side, 57 per cent of 271 channel partners polled in EMEA and 41 per cent of 392 in the US were more confident of HPQ's success over the next three years since the closure of the merger earlier this month. Of HPQ's competitors, Dell was seen as the main beneficiary.

Channel partners expressed concern about reduced financial support and market development funds from HPQ, along with a possible diminishment in the role of the channel after the conclusion of the merger.

That sentiment cuts both ways, though. In the survey, 39 per cent of US channel partners and 37 per cent of those in the UK said they were "de-emphasising" their commitment to HPQ.

"HPQ's historic channel commitment may be challenged in the next year as it integrates business units, rationalises product lines, and de-emphasises two-tier distribution that it is leveraged for the last ten plus years," said Denise Sangster, president and chief executive of Global Touch. ®